


slow but steady

by kathoo



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Kissing, Crying, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Iruma Miu's Dirty Mouth, but kaede isn't having any of it, irumatsu is a good ship u cowards!!!!, miu does not Love Herself(tm), tenko isn't there for long at all but she's important and i love her, this is all just
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 16:19:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14674827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathoo/pseuds/kathoo
Summary: If someone as amazing as Kaede could care about someone like herself, then maybe the impossible really was possible. Maybe, one day, she could learn to care about herself in the same way..Or, the five times that Kaede did something for Miu, and the one time that Miu returned the favor.





	slow but steady

i. 

 

Miu Iruma, the gorgeous girl genius, wasn’t as calm and collected as she’d like to be in this situation. Then again, her classmates—not friends, she’d never call them friends—would argue that she never was. That wasn’t important right now, though. All she knew was that she was missing her goggles, and she wasn’t going to be able to work on the prototype she was building without them. No one else would have goggles as effective as the ones that she’d had, not to mention that they were expensive. Miu might be the queen of all that was good and perfect, but she wasn’t about to blow her money on some dumbass goggles.

So, the only option left was to find them, right? It wasn’t that easy. Miu had gotten less sleep than she usually did last night because she was fucking around with her prototype, and then she had to do her goddamn homework because if she didn’t then Kaediot would wonder why she didn’t and get all concerned over her. And since she was dragging herself from place to place that day, she didn’t remember a damn thing about where it could be. Basically, she screwed herself over.

She didn’t expect to get them back, really. Not that day, at least. She had been looking all around, but nothing had turned up. If she couldn’t find it, then no one else possibly could. She was a master in all areas. Her eyes were sharply trained; she could spot a ladybug from a mile away, she could see a speck of dust on a black table from ten feet away, she could—

“Iruma-san!” a high, cheerful voice called from behind her. Kaediot. Miu had just looked inside her locker to make sure that her goggles weren’t there, but she’d been so immersed in her thoughts that hearing someone speak caught her off guard.

Miu slammed her locker door shut harder than necessary and turned to raise an eyebrow at the blonde who stood before her with a large grin. “Well? The fuck do you want, Bakamatsu?”

Kaediot only continued smiling. “I have something for you!”  
  
“Yeah? What the fuck is it?” Miu asked, slightly intrigued. Despite being a lovely goddess, it wasn’t very often that she was gifted something from her classmates. This was bound to be good.

Kaediot brushed a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, pouting a bit. “You could be a bit nicer, Iruma-san. It doesn’t hurt to word things nicely once and awhile, you know?”  
  
Miu scoffed. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard this before. You gonna give it to me or am I just gonna stand around all day?”

Kaediot sighed, but the warmth in her purple eyes didn’t waver. Instead a fond smile crossed her face. Was there anything that could faze this girl? “It’s all yours.”

Kaediot handed Miu a familiar object, and Miu was staring in awe for a bit longer than she probably should have. Then again, since when had Miu Iruma, the gorgeous girl genius, the queen of all that was good and perfect, the lovely goddess, ever been normal?  
  
“You were looking for this, right?” Kaediot asked after Miu finally took the goggles in her hands. “I saw them on the classroom floor, and I knew that I couldn’t leave them there. I hope that I helped you in some way.”  
  
It took awhile for Miu to be able to form proper words, but when she could, all that came out was, “I-I _guess_.”

Not her proudest moment.

Kaediot only laughed, bright and loud. Her eyes closed as she laughed, and Miu would be lying if it didn’t make Kaediot look like a goddess herself. Miu didn’t lie, that was for sure—she didn’t tell the truth, either, but that was besides the point.

“Then I’m glad,” Kaediot told her, sounding too genuine for the liking of Miu’s heart.

“Of course you are,” Miu boasted. “I mean, who _wouldn’t_ want to serve the great and gorgeous Miu Iruma?”  
  
“No one,” Kaediot answered for her. “No one wouldn’t want to help you, Iruma-san.”  
  
Miu didn’t know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that. She sputtered out a few more curses before retreating back to her room.

She wasn't able to ignore the intense thumping from her heart.

 

* * *

 ii. 

 

Miu hated running, but she especially hated it on a hot day. It made her all gross and sweaty, and that wasn’t a good image for a queen. Her legs gave out easily, as well, so it was never long before she had to resort to panting and walking at a slow speed. While others like Maki raced by with ease on the school track, others like Miu were left behind in their dust. Fuck school.

When she came back from the hot sun and the disgusting place that was the outside world, she looked like a mess. Sweat caused her hair to look like it had just been washed, not to mention the fact that it was frizzing up. She couldn’t steady her breathing, and to top it all off, she had to go to the locker room with the other girls so they could see her in this state.

It wasn’t too fucking horrible, though. Everyone looked like she did. Except for Maki, of course. That stone cold bitch didn’t break a damn sweat. Tenko looked alright, but sweat was still evident on her body. Everyone else was dying just like her. It was a relief, to say the least.

But, the bad thing? All of them were crowded over the two water fountains that the locker room had. And none of them were budging. Gulp after gulp, the same people kept drinking from the fountains while the rest of them were quite literally about to collapse. She would yell at whoever the hell was holding up the rest of them, but she was so tired that she could barely form words.

Just when she was about to give up and sit down against one of the lockers, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Kaediot standing there, a water bottle in hand.

Kaediot, even as a mess, looked absolutely perfect. Her hair remained clean and perfectly straight, and the sweaty spots on her Phys. Ed clothes just made her look hot. In a sexy way, not hot in a heat way—that much was pretty fucking obvious.

“Do you want a sip?” Kaediot asked, holding out the water bottle. “I already drank some of it, sorry. But there’s plenty left. You can finish it.”

“I don’t need your filthy hand-me-down water,” Miu spat. “And I don’t need your help, either.”  
  
Kaediot gave her a questioning look. “You think the school water is any cleaner than my water?”

Miu opened her mouth to argue, but she had a point. Reluctantly, Miu grabbed the water bottle and took big, not very ladylike gulps. The feel of the cool water on her deprived tongue was too good of a feeling to truly describe. It was so good that she forgot that Kaediot had been watching her the entire time.

Once Miu finished, she practically threw it back into Kaediot’s hands. “Thanks, bitch. The queen is all revved up and ready to go!”  
  
“Are you sure?” Kaediot questioned. “Not to doubt your skills, but you look like you could use some relaxation. You know what food always helps me relax? Ice cream!”

“I don’t fuckin’ have any,” Miu explained, avoiding eye contact. “Haven’t had any in a long time.”

“Really? Oh, I have an idea!” Kaedidiot announced, grinning at her. The light in her eyes was too bright to ignore. How could someone possibly be this excited? “There’s an ice cream place down the street! Do you want to come with me, Iruma-san?”

“M-Me?” Miu stuttered. “Wouldn’t you rather go with one of the dumb fucks you always hang out with?”  
  
“I asked you, though, Iruma-san,” Kaediot insisted. “The day is over. We should head out before it gets crowded.”  
  
“Fine,” Miu relented, not trusting herself to say anything else without her voice cracking.  
  
“Great!” Kaediot cheered, grabbing her by the hand and taking her off. Kaediot—no, _Kaede_ — really was something else entirely. She’d have to observe her more closely.

 

* * *

iii. 

 

It was often that Miu neglected her needs in favor of tweaking with one of her projects, but it wasn’t often at all in which someone cared for her. In fact, this had to be the first time in her entire life that anyone actually gave a damn.

“It’s not good to neglect yourself, Iruma-san,” Kaede told her firmly. “Have you eaten anything at all today?”  
  
They were standing in the school kitchen. They allowed students to go in, of course, because some of their talents revolved around cooking. Miu had never actually been inside, though. She didn’t give a single fuck about cooking or other dumb shit that all the girls wanted to learn to do for their husbands.

“Nah,” Miu responded. “It doesn’t fuckin’ matter, Bakamatsu. I have to finish the thing I was working on. Mind letting me go back, or are you going to hold me hostage in this kitchen?”  
  
“I’m going to hold you hostage in this kitchen,” Kaede informed her, giggling at her own joke. After a moment, she added, “Until you eat, of course.”  
  
“I don’t see why you care,” Miu complained. “You’re just wasting my time and yours. You’re holding the gorgeous girl genius back!”  
  
“The gorgeous girl genius won’t be so much of a genius if she never takes care of herself,” Kaede scolded, her cheeks puffed out just the slightest bit. “Now, be quiet so I can make you something to eat. Let me think…. Oh! What do you think about french toast?”  
  
“At fucking seven at night?” Miu pointed out, crossing her arms. “Geez, you always get the stupidest ideas…. Fuck it, go ahead. They’d better be good, though!”  
  
“I wouldn’t give you anything but the best,” Kaede assured her, giving her a wink and she took the eggs out from the refrigerator.

Miu had definitely eaten better french toast, but she didn’t dare tell Kaede that as she ate it mercilessly. Even if it wasn’t Kirumi level cooking, it was made by Kaede Akamatsu—and that alone was enough to make the best meal in the house.

 

* * *

iv. 

 

Miu may always act like a queen, but she definitely didn’t always feel like a queen.

There were times when she couldn’t think of anything but herself, and she didn’t mean that in the egotistical way that she wished it meant. Everything about her was so utterly _disgusting_. It was no question why her classmates despised her—she was awful. Who would ever want to befriend someone as self-centered and untalented as her? She didn’t deserve to be here. She would never say it to another soul, but she knew deep down that she didn’t deserve to be an Ultimate.

The others were so much more talented than her. Tenko was the epitome of strong, Tsumugi was passionate and put effort into her work, Angie’s every brush stroke was absolute perfection—but what about Miu Iruma? She wasn’t anything compared to them.

And Kaede…. Kaede was something beyond this world. She was exactly what every Ultimate should strive to be. She was exactly what Miu wished that she could be.

She was prepared to lie down the entire night on her bed thinking nothing but similar thoughts, but a knock on her door interrupted her. Who the fuck would want to see her this late? Unless they needed her to make something it wouldn’t make sense.

She grumbled and opened her door, ready to glare daggers at whoever was there, but froze when she saw familiar purple eyes and bright blonde hair. “Bakamatsu? The fuck do you want?”

“I was just handing you the notebook that you left behi—Iruma-san, are you alright?” Kaede gave her a worried look, and Miu felt her heart drop. If Kaede knew that something was wrong, then there was no escaping her concern. Of all people, it had to be Kaede fucking Akamatsu, the goddess of solving problems, to show up at her door.

“No,” she replied. “Why’re you asking?”  
  
“Your eyes are red,” Kaede informed her. “Have you been crying?”  
  
Had she been crying? If she had, she hadn’t even noticed. Fuck. If she’d managed to just look in the mirror and wipe her eyes just the slightest bit more, Kaede might not have noticed anything at all.

“No,” she lied, voice small. Her throat was too dry for her usual antics.

“That’s not true,” Kaede refuted, her eyebrows furrowed. Kaede let herself in, hands on her hips in the assertive fashion that Miu had grown to love. “We’re going to sit down on this bed, and you’re going to tell me what’s wrong. I can’t just sit by while one of my closest friends is crying.”  
  
“C-Closest?” Miu stuttered. “You have some pretty fuckin’ bad taste, Bakamatsu.”  
  
“Bad taste?” Kaede echoed. “That’s unlike you to say, Iruma-san.”  
  
“It is, isn’t it?” Miu murmured, staring down at the ground. It was easier than having to look into Kaede’s eyes and realizing how undeserving she was of the girl before her. “I’m just having a bad day, is all. You can go away, now.”  
  
“Iruma-san,” Kaede begged, latching onto Miu’s hand. “Please, tell me what’s wrong.” Kaede looked desperate, and Miu didn’t know what to do.

So, she did the one thing that she could do when against Kaede Akamatsu. Give in.

“I don’t feel like I belong here,” Miu admitted. “D-Don’t get the wrong idea—I’m still a fuckin’ queen! I’m perfect, and I’m gorgeous, and I’m… I’m…”

“You don’t actually feel like that, do you?” Kaede realized. “I get it, now. You call yourself a queen on the outside to make up for what you don’t feel on the inside.”

“H-Hey,” Miu protested, “don’t try to figure me out! I’m unpredictable! I’m everchanging! I’m…”

“It’s okay,” Kaede whispered, moving just the slightest bit closer to Miu. The comforter beneath them ruffled. “You don’t need to pretend, you know. I think you’re the most gorgeous, beautiful, talented, extraordinary, stunning—”  
  
“Shut up!” Miu yelled, burying her face in her hands. “You’re gross!”  
  
Kaede laughed. “Maybe so. But, you know who’s not gross?”  
  
“Who?” Miu asked, peeking one eye out from behind her hands.

“You,” Kaede responded, moving even closer until she pushed herself on top of Miu, hugging her. “You know why? It’s because you’re the epitome of perfection. There’s nothing wrong with you, Iruma-san. There’s nothing I would ever change about you.”  
  
“Y-Yeah, right,” Miu said, disbelievingly. “Like you really think that.”  
  
“You trust me, right?” Kaede inquired, peering deep into Miu’s eyes from above her.

“Yeah,” Miu breathed.

“Then trust me when I say that you’re lovely,” Kaede requested, backing off a bit. “You’re absolute perfection in my eyes.”

 _This should be the other way around_ , she couldn’t help but think. If someone as amazing as Kaede could care about someone like herself, then maybe the impossible really was possible. Maybe, one day, she could learn to care about herself in the same way.

* * *

v.

 

Kaede’s hands flitted from key to key, no finger staying in one place for more than a few beats. The flow of her hands was so natural and soothing that it felt like this what Kaede was born for. It _was_ what Kaede was born for. The movement of each finger would be enough to lull someone to sleep, even without the sound resonating from the piano. Maybe this was what angels felt like when they first arrived in heaven; true bliss.

Miu was never the type to sit and watch, but there was nothing that she’d rather do than exactly that right now. Kaede’s calm expression and the smooth flow of the piece was too magnificent to pass up. There was no inappropriate comment that could be made in this moment. All that she could feel was the music that was gracing her ears and whatever feeling was bursting in her chest.

When Kaede finally finished, she turned to smile at Miu. “It’s not my best, I know. I’m still going over this piece. In the fifth measure I keep playing the sixteenth notes just a beat too quickly, and I always mess up in the middle of the piece when there are constant decrescendos and crescendos, because I’m too busy worrying about making sure I’m pulling off keeping it cantabile when the speed picks up. And don’t even make me _start_ on the—”  
  
“Shut up, Bakamatsu,” Miu demanded. “It was beautiful. You did great.”  
  
Kaede blinked. “Are you sure this is Miu Iruma I’m talking to?”  
  
“You’d better believe it,” Miu huffed. “You’re the best goddamn person in this school. Don’t doubt your talent so much, it’s annoying. You’re gonna screw up the first few times, sure, but once you keep going you’ll get to where you wanna go. It’s common sense, really.”  
  
There was a long moment of silence. And then, “You know, you could really use a lesson from yourself, Iruma-san.”

Miu rolled her eyes. “This is about you, not me, dumbass.”  
  
“No, you don’t get it.” Kaede sat up from her spot at the piano and took a seat beside Miu. “This isn’t about just one of us. This is about both of us, together. We’re a team, right?”  
  
“Since when?” Miu asked, her tone laced with disbelief.

“Since always,” Kaede told her, lacing their fingers together. Kaede’s were warm, while Miu’s were terribly cold. They both provided what the other needed.

Miu, for the first time in her entire life, let her guard down around someone and laid her head against Kaede’s shoulder.

 

* * *

vi.

 

“You should ask her out,” Tenbitch—er, Tenko, encouraged Miu, giving her a pat on the back. “Akamatsu-san obviously likes you, and you obviously like her! Nothing makes me happier than seeing two of the gorgeous girls in our class happily together.”  
  
“Calm the fuck down,” Miu snapped. “Bakamatsu definitely doesn’t even like me, first of all. Second of all, I definitely don’t like her.”

Tenko gave her a blank look. “Iruma-san, has anyone ever told you that you’re not very good at lying?”

“Bitch!” Miu shouted, throwing her crumpled up math sheet at Tenko’s face. “I’m the best at everything!”

“You are,” Tenko agreed, “and that’s why you should use your flirting skills to get yourself a date with Akamatsu-san!”

“I don’t know _how_ ,” Miu admitted, not meeting Tenko’s eyes. “You make it look so easy whenever you talk with a girl, but it’s not that easy for me. What if Akamatsu-san doesn’t even like girls? What do I do then?”  
  
“She’s bi,” Tenko informed her. “Didn’t you know that? She’s pretty obvious about it. I think that you’re just the slightest bit dense, Iruma-san. But, it’ll all be okay, because I’ll give you advice on how to ask Akamatsu-san out!”

“Fuck you,” Miu hissed. “... So? Are you gonna give me advice or what?”

 

* * *

 

Miu knocked on Kaede’s dorm room, her hands sweating profusely. There was no way that she would be able to do this. Kaede was going to say no. Kaede was going to hate her. Kaede was going to realize how gross she actually was and leave her behind.

Miu turned around to leave, thinking she could get away from all of this, but fate didn’t let her win that day. The door opened just as she began to leave. “Iruma-san?” Fuck.

“B-Bakamatsu,” Miu regarded the girl. “W-What’s up?”  
  
“What’s going on?” Kaede questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Did you break one of my hair ties again? I’ve told you the first hundred times, it’s fine.”  
  
“That’s not it,” Miu told her, inching closer to the door. “I’m sure you know that the fuckin’ dance is coming up and shit…”  
  
“The one that you always make fun of?” Kaede asked. “Yeah, what about it?”  
  
Miu steeled herself, preparing for the big moment. Once this was over, no matter how it ended, life would go on. Hopefully. “Are you really gonna make me say it? Fuck. Kaede, will you go to the dance with me?” There. She said it. Now Kaede could reject her, and she could live alone in peace with her prototypes.

The thumping in her chest was increasing, though. How nervous could a person even be?

There was a painful silence. And then, “You used my first name.”  
  
“Huh?”

“It’s always Bakamatsu,” Kaede explained, “but you called me Kaede. Can you keep doing that from now on? I like it.”

“I don’t know, sure,” Miu agreed, giving Kaede an odd look. “What’re you getting at?”  
  
“What color should our dresses be?” Kaede questioned. “I’m thinking a pale lavender. It would suit both of us, don’t you think? Oh! You know, I have the prettiest necklaces that my mother gave me a few years ago. Both of us could wear one. We’re going to look so good together! I can’t wait to brag about this to Saihara-kun.”

“What?!” Miu yelped. “D-Does this mean you’re coming with me?”  
  
“Oh, did I forget to say yes?” Kaede gave a small laugh. “I just thought my feelings were so obvious I didn’t even need to say them. Of course I’ll go with you, Iruma-san! There isn’t another girl in the world that I’d rather go with. We’re going to look so good!”  
  
“Do we have to wear dresses?” Miu whined.

“Not if you don’t want to,” Kaede assured her. “We could wear comfy clothes. Oh! What if we got matching hoodies? What color, what color… Oh! Don’t you think red would be good?”  
  
“You’re really good at planning for this shit,” Miu complimented. “But, yeah, red sounds good. You’re buying the hoodies though, since I almost died trying to ask you out.”  
  
“I don’t know why you doubted yourself,” Kaede admitted. “I thought I was super obvious about my feelings. Even if I tried to, I don’t think I’m very good at hiding how I feel around girls. But, I’m really glad that you did something for me, Iruma-san. I wasn’t too sure about asking you out, to be honest.”  
  
“This isn’t all, though. There’s something else.”

“What?” Kaede asked, leaning in closely, straying a bit from the door.

“T-This.” Miu put all her thoughts aside, and leaned in until their lips were touching. Neither of them had any real experience with it, which soon became obvious when it ended almost as quickly as it began. It definitely wasn’t the first kiss that Miu had seen in movies, but it was far better than any of those, in her opinion. What just happened… that was real.

Kaede pressed her forehead against Miu’s. “I have to say, Miu. I liked your gift a lot.”

Miu gulped. “Y-You know, I wouldn’t be opposed to giving you things often.”

“Oh?” Kaede murmured, grinning. “How often?”

“Shut up,” Miu muttered, and leaned in again.

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! all comments and kudos are v appreciated!!
> 
> thank you for reading! i hope you have a good day!


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